Qustodio vs Google Family Link: Which to Pick for Your Kid (2026)
Both are real parental controls, aimed at kids under 14, and Mi Estela has no place in this comparison. So we can compare them without an agenda: one is free and from Google, the other is paid, from Barcelona, and goes further.
When a child gets their first phone before 14, the question isn't “which location app” but “which parental control”: something an adult sets up from their own account to decide apps, screen time and content, and that also shows where the phone is. The two names that always come up are Google Family Link and Qustodio. Here are the differences that matter, with prices in Spain as of October 14, 2026.
What they have in common
Both let you approve or block apps, set daily time limits and bedtime, filter content, and see the child’s phone location with alerts when they arrive at or leave saved places. Both are supervision: the adult sees, the child is seen. That’s appropriate at this age, and on both the child knows they’re supervised.
The differences
- Price. Family Link is completely free. Qustodio has a free plan for one device, and its paid plans cost €59.99/year (Premium Basic) or €99.99/year (Complete) on the App Store in Spain.
- Which phones it supervises. Family Link only supervises Android devices (the parent’s phone can be an iPhone or Android, but the child’s has to be Android). Qustodio supervises Android, iPhone, computers and tablets.
- How far it goes. Family Link stops at apps, time, content and location. Qustodio adds alerts for messages and AI-powered search social media monitoring and, on the Complete plan, call and SMS logging. More control, for better and for worse.
- Company and data. Family Link is Google, under Google’s data policy. Qustodio was founded in Barcelona, has belonged to the Qoria group since 2022, and is bound by the GDPR as a European company; its store listing says it collects data for marketing, but states it doesn’t sell children’s data.
- What happens at 14. In Spain, at 14 a child can have their own Google account, and Family Link reminds them that supervision continues only if they accept. Qustodio has no such technical limit, but the underlying question is the same.
Who each one is for
- Family Link if the child has Android, you want the basics (apps, time, where they are) and you don’t want to pay. For most families with a first Android phone, it’s enough.
- Qustodio if the child has an iPhone (Family Link doesn’t supervise it), if you have several different devices, or if you want alerts about what they write and search. You pay to go further.
And when parental control stops making sense
Neither one is designed for a 15- or 16-year-old who already makes their own decisions, for grandparents, or for a partner. For a family with kids from 14 up, older parents, iPhones and Androids mixed together, who want arrival alerts, SOS, chat and video calls in one place and everyone to choose how they appear, what fits is a family location app that is symmetrical and based on consent. That’s what Mi Estela does, which is why we don’t compete here: Mi Estela vs Qustodio and vs Family Link, with the full table.
Sources
- Google: Family Link, official help
- Google: minimum age for an account by country
- App Store Spain: Qustodio listing (prices, Oct 14, 2026)
- Qustodio: the company
